Flooring



F. L. DAVIS.

FLOORING.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 5, 1

1,404,279. Patented Jan. 24,1922.

ks 2 SHhETS-SHEETI- fi\ 'IINVENTOR F. L. DAVIS.

v IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 0v. 5 1 9 2 o. 7 1,404,279. Patented Jan. 24, 1922.

I 2 SHHLI TTTTTTTT 2- LATTORNEY UNITED STATES FRANK L. DAVIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FLOORING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 24, 1922.

Application filed November 5,1920. Serial No. 421,860.

character usually comprising a lower bed or layer of concrete, cement, mortar or other suitable material or mixture spread, while wet, on the floor-foundation of a building, an upper or finishing layer of better grade material spread on said bed-layer and dividing strips embedded on edge within said layers and serving to divide the finishing layer into squares or other geometrical outlines, said dividing strips being first set into the bed-layer While the same is soft and becoming anchored therein on the hardening of said layer, and the material for the upper layer being thereafter spread or filled in upon the hardened lower layer and between the upper exposed portions of said strips, whose upper edges are finally exposed at the upper level of the finished flooring, which has the appearance of having been laid in blocks or slabs. The top surface of the finishing layer is finally smoothed and polished, thereby completing the flooring.

The object of my invention is to improve floorings of the character to which my invention pertains, to increase the strength of the floor structure, to lessen the danger of cracks appearing in the finished surface of the flooring and to provide more desirable and efiicient dividing strips to be embedded in the material of the flooring, the dividing strips or dividers provided by me being of special character and capable of performing their duties with great efficiency, thereby improving the fiooring structure as a whole.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a section of a flooring embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a detached perspective view, partly broken away, of one of the dividers or metallic strips employed in the flooring structure shown in Fig. 1, the reverse face of the strip bein shown;

Fig. 3 is a si e view of a portion of the same, the obverse face of the strip being shown;

Fig. 4 is a side view of a portion of a slightly modified construct-ion of divider, the modification residing in providing the strips with circular. punctures instead of hexagonal punctures;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the same taken on the dotted line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through a portion of a flooring'employing a further modified construction of dividing strip;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a portio of a dividing strip or divider of the construction shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view through a portion of a flooring employing a further modified construction of divider;

Fig. 9 is a corresponding view illustrating the employment of a further modified construction of divider;

Fig. 10 is a like view illustrating a further modified construction of divider;

Fig. 11 is a corresponding section illustrating the use of a divider combining the features of the dividers shown in Figs. 9 and 10, and s Fig. 12 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of the divider shown in section in Fig. 11.

In the drawings 15 designates the lower or bed-layer of composition or material to be spread or arranged on the usual basefoundation, not shown, and 16 the upper or finishing layer, which will usually be of a higher grade of composition or material, and spread or arranged on the layer 15. Floor compositions vary in character and my invention is not limited to the employment of any special mixture, material or composition for the layers 15, 16.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the metallic dividing strips or dividers are designated by the numeral 17, and, as shown, these d1- viders are arranged to divide the surface of the flooring into squares or panels of suitable outline and dimensions.

The detailed construction of the dividers 17 is separately shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Each divider 17 consists of an elongated metallic strip comprising an upper sectlon 18, a lower section 19 preferably offset from the vertical plane of said upper section, and an intermediate section 20 which is bowed or curved laterally beyond the vertical planes of both sections 18, 19 and forms on the obverse face of the strip a longitudinal rib and on the reverse face thereof a longitudinal groove or recess, as shown. The upper section 18 will usually be left with plain faces, and preferably the lower section 19 will have a plurality of about equally spaced-apart punctures 21 formed in it. the punctures preferably being formed with a pointed tool having a hexagonal or polygonal cross-section so as to leave the metal of the strip, at the punctures, with transverse angular walls and laterally projecting burrs of angular formation.

In the construction of the flooring shown in Fig. 1 the bed layer 15 is first spread upon the floor foundation, not shown, and thereupon and while the material of said layer is wet, the dividers or dividing strips 17 are properly positioned-therein, said strips being forced, on edge, downwardly into .the layer 15 until they become embedded up to about the upper edge of the laterally projected section 20 of "said strips, and thereupon the layer 15 is allowed to harden, said strips or dividers 17 becoming firmly anchored thereby in said material 15. After the layer 15 has become sufficiently set .or hardened the material for the-upper layer 16 is spread upon the layer 15 and between the upwardly projecting sections 18 of the dividers or strips 17, the upper surface of the layer 16 being about on a level with the upper edges of the strips or dividers 17 all of which will be, at their upper edges, on a uniform horizontal plane. The material of the layer 15 enters into the groove formed by the bowed section 20 of the strips 17 and also enters upon the top of said section 20, as shown in Fig. 1, and said material also passes through the punctures 21 in the section 19 of said strips,.as well as engaging the exterior surfaces of the burrs or flanges displaced laterally at said punctures. The material of the layer 15, by entering the groove of the offset section 20, passes below the lower edge of the section 18 of the dividers or strips 17, and, as aforesaid, a portion of the material of the layer 15 is upon the upper surface of the sections 20. The construction of the dividers or strips 17, as hereinbefore described, is for the purpose of enabling the bed layer '15 to very securely anchor the dividers or strips so as to render said dividers or strips eiiicient and improve the general construction of the flooring. The material of the bed layer 15 where it' passes within the bowed section 20 of the dividers or strips 17 and is dlsposed below said section 20 very effectually supports the dividers during the hardening of the layer 15. and the material within the said section 17 and engaging the upper surface of said section prevents any upward movement of the dividers. The punctures 21 in the section 19 of the dividers are important in aiding the anchoring of the dividers within the bed 15, since said material not only enters the punctures 21 but engages all of the surfaces about the laterally disposed burrs formed at the said punctures.

One object of my invention is the provision of a very durable and efiicient divider 17, and one which may be securely anchored within the bed layer 15. The construction of divider presented by me is one which does not weaken the strip of material but on the contrary tends to stifi en the same and render the strip more efficient when used as a divider in a flooring construction. The laterally bowed section 20 aids materially in stiffening the strip or divider 17, and the punctures 21 are of such character that they do not weaken the strip. I prefer that the punctures 21 be of polygonal outline, as shown in Fig. 3, because I believe some advantage, in the anchoring of the divider, is secured by the several walls of the puncture. I do not wish, however, to limit my invention to the formation of punctures 21 of polygonal outline, and therefore I present Figs. land 5, which illustrate the same divider shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 as having a circular puncture 22. The divider shown in Figs. 4 and 5 does not require any special description since the only difference between it and the divider shown in Fig. 2 resides in the formation of the puncture. I therefore number the divider shown in Figs. 4 and 5 correspondingly with the numbering shown in Fig. 2 with the exception that I apply the numeral 22 to the circular puncture.

I regard the punctures located in the lower longitudinal portion of the strip or divider as of considerable importance as an aid to the secure anchoring of the divider in the bed layer 15, and therefore I illustrate in Figs. 6 and 7 a plain metallic strip divider 23 having a. plurality of punctures -illustrated in Fig. 6 in which it may be seen how efficiently they aid in anchoring the divider within the bed layer 15.

In .the construction shown in Fig. 8 I

illustrate a divider 25 having a lower series of punctures 26 and an upper or about midway horizontal series of punctures 27 into which I drive transverse pins 28 which project at opposite sides of the divider and serve to aid in steadying the divider and in guiding the operator in positioning the divider in the bed layer 15. It is not essential to employ the pins 28 in the punctures 27 but they serve as a guide to some'workmen in placing the dividers in proper position, and they also tend to prevent any tilting action of the dividers.

' In Fig. 9 I illustrate a divider 29 which comprises an upper plain section 30, a lower section 31 having the punctures 32, and an intermediate horizontal section 33 which forms a step and is produced by offsetting the lower section 31 from the vertical plane of the upper section 30. The horizontal section or step 33 serves as a guide to the workmen in embedding the divider, the divider being pushed downwardly into the bed layer 15 until the step or section 33} is on the upper surface of said layer or in the position shown in Fig. 9. The construction of divider 29 shown in Fig. 9 possesses man of the advantages'of the construction of divider shown in Fig. 2 in that the upper and lower sections of the divider are on different vertical planes and that the material of the bed layer extends below the lower edge of the upper section 30. The lower section 31, by reason of the presence of the punctures 32, presentsthe advantages of the lower section 19 of the divider shown in Ihave found that dividers having the upper section 30, intermediate horizontal section or step 33 and lower section 31 offset from the vertical plane of said upper section, possess marked advantages in use in that the bending of the sheet metal to form the section 33 and oifset the lower section 31 so stiifens the divider that I may use metal which is thin and pliable in the sheet in the manufacture thereof without danger of the divider having weak points at which it might be bent on vertical lines; the use of this material lessens the cost of production and also the labor of finally rubbing down the upper edge of the divider and assures in the wearing down of the flooring, due to travel over the same, the wearing away of the upper edges of the divider strips with the other surfaces presented by the flooring.

Fig. 10 illustrates a divider 34 comprising an upper plain section 35, a lower section 36 and an intermediate horizontal section or step 37. in which I form the punctures 38 instead of providingsaid punctures in the lower section or in the position in which I illustrate the same in Fig. 9. The

construction shown in Fig. 10 corresponds with that shown in Fig. 9 with the exception that instead of locating the punctures in the lower section of the divider, as shown in Fig. 9, I locate the same punctures, in Fig. 10, in the step or horizontal section 37. The punctures 38 shown in Fig. 10 aid in anchoring the divider within the bed layer 15 and cooperate with the lower section 36 in maintaining the divider in proper upright position.

In Fig. 11 I illustrate a divider 39 which presents a combination of the dividers shown in Figs. 9 and 10, in that said divider 39 comprises an upper plain section 40, a lower section 41, a horizontal section or step 42,

and punctures in said horizontal section 42, as in Fig. 10, and also in the lower section 11 as in Fig. 9. Fig. 12 illustrates in perspective the divider 39 shown in Fig. 11 and will be understood without further explanation.

In all of the forms of my invention I seek to provide an efficient divider which may be properly embedded and anchored within the layer 15 of the flooring and which while providing features enabling it to be anchored within the layer 15 does not become weakened thereby. The dividers presented by me are also capable of ready manufacture without waste of metal or undue cutting of the strips.

I desire to claim my invention in its application, where possible, to side walls and ceilings, as well as to what is technically floormg.

\Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. A flooring and the like of material laid while wet and allowed to harden comprising a series of divider-strips anchored in said flooring by the material thereof and exposed at the upper surface of the same and dividing said surface into panels of predetermined outline, said strips being set on edge and comprising an upper portion, a lower portion and an intermediate section displaced laterally along the longitudinal line of the strip by a bending operation tending to stiffen the strip and serving as means for aiding in the anchoring of the strip and in maintaining the strip in vertical position and against vertical displacement, said lower portion being offset from the vertical plane of said upper portion as an aid to the eflicient anchoring of the strip.

2. A flooring and the like of material laid while wet and allowed to harden comprising a series of divider-strips anchored in said flooring by the material thereof and exposed at the upper surface of the same and dividing said surface into panels of predetermined outline, said strips being set on edge and comprising an upper portion, a lower portion and an intermediate section displaced laterally along the longitudinal line of the strip by a bending operation tending to stiffen the strip and serving as means for aiding in the anchoring of the strip and in maintaining the strip in vertical position and against vertical displacement, said lower portion being formed with a series of punctures affording laterally displaced burrs, within which punctures and around which burrs the flooring material hardens.

3. A. flooring and the like of material laid while wet and allowed to harden comprising a series of divider-strips anchored in said flooring by the material thereof and exposed at the upper surface of the same lee , and dividing said surface into panels of predetermined outline, said strips being set on edge and comprising an upper portion, a lower portion and an intermediate section displaced laterally along the longitudinal line of the strip by a bending operation tending to stiffen the strip and serving as means for aiding in the anchoring of the strip and in maintaining the strip in vertical position and against vertical displacement, said intermediate section being formed with a series of punctures affording projecting burrs, within which punctures and around which burrs the flooring material hardens.

4. A flooring and the like of material laid while wet and allowed to harden comprising a series of divider-strips anchored in said flooring by the material thereof and exposed at the upper surface of the same and dividing said surface into panels of predetermined outline, said strips being set on edge and comprising an upper portion, a lower portion and an intermediate section displaced laterally along the longitudinal line of the strip by a bending operation tending to stiffen the strip and serving as means for aiding in the anchoring of the strip and in maintaining the strip in vertical position and against vertical displacement, said lower portion and said intermediate section both having a series of punctures affording projecting burrs, within which punctures and around which burrs the flooring material hardens.

5. A flooring and the like of material laid While wet and allowed to harden comprising a series of divider-strips anchored in said material and exposed at the upper surface thereof and dividing said surface into panels of predetermined outline, said strips being of sheet metal. and set on edge and comprising an upper vertical portion, an intermediate horizontal step extending laterally from the lower edge of said upper portion and a lower vertical portion extending downwardly from the outer edge of said intermediate step.

6. A flooring and the like of material laid while wet and allowed to harden comprising a series of divider-strips anchored in said flooring by the material thereof and exposed at the upper surface of the same and dividing said surface into panels of predetermined outline, said strips being set on edge and of metal and having a longitudinal series of punctures affording later; ally projecting burrs, within which punctures and around which burrs the flooring material is allowed to hardenas an aid to the proper securing of the strips in said material.

7 A flooring and the like of material laid while wet and allowed to harden comprisin a series of divider-strips anchored in said flooring and exposed at the upper surface thereof and dividing said surface into panels of predetermined outline, said strips being set on edge andcomprising an upper portion, a lower portion and an intermediate section displaced laterally along the longitudinal line of the strip by a bending operation.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 4th day .of November, A. D. 1920.

FRANK L. DAVIS. 

